CRAIG — The wild horses in Moffat County’s Sand Wash Basin will not be receiving supplemental water, at least not right now.

The Bureau of Land Management told the Wild Horse Warriors for Sand Wash Basin advocacy groups Tuesday that the agency would not allow volunteers to haul supplemental water into the basin at this time.

“Wild Horse Warriors will not give permission to others to haul water, and Wild Horse Warriors will not haul water without permission, but we are going to continue to stay in touch and monitor daily what’s going on with water,” said Cindy Wright, an organizer with the volunteer organization. “In the meantime, we will be preparing for when the state says ‘go’ to be ready to go with the water. That’s not gone away. This is just a delay. It’s not going to happen when we thought it was going to happen. We still believe that it will happen.”

About 750 wild horses live in the Sand Wash Basin herd management area comprising about 150,000 acres under a federal designation that mandates the land be managed for wild horses and burros.

Wild Horse Warriors have become concerned by drought conditions in the basin. Wright said ponds and springs in the area are drying up months before they typically do. Three wells, two developed springs, five undeveloped springs and about 50 ephemeral catchment ponds provide water to wildlife, including horses, in Sand Wash Basin, said Steven Hall, communications director at the Colorado BLM state office. He added that, while ponds are drying up, springs are flowing, and well water is available.

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